Archer
| Series = Archer & Armstrong | Volume = 2 | Issue = 1 | Date = | Previous = — | Next = | Event = | EventPrevious = | EventNext = }} Sons of Perdition Appearances Featured Characters: * ** ** Supporting Characters: * * * Villains: * ** *** *** ** Other Characters: * Archer Family ** Barry, , Bort, Crystal, , Dinesh, Duffy, Iskandar, Jean-Paul, Johan, , Kofi, , Mercedes, Rivka, Spiros, Suri, Svetlana, T-Bone, Tsuyoshi * * Cavewoman Andy * * Founding Fathers of the United States ** Freemasons *** Benjamin Franklin *** * * * * Rush and parents * Sons of Perdition ** Bruce Locations: * * Egypt * The Faraway * ** *** **** * ** *** * ** *** **** ***** **** **** ***** * ** Adams County *** **** Items: * * ** ** The Plane Vehicles: * Credits * Pencilers: * Inkers: * Colorists: * Letterers: * Cover Artists: (A / Gold), (Pullbox / 2nd / 3rd), (1:20), (1:100) * Editors: , (assistant), (associate) * Editor-in-Chief: }} Synopsis Thousands of years in the past, in ancient Mesopotamia (before the Great Cataclysm), Aram Anni-Padda argues with his brother Ivar. Ivar plans to use an artificat called "The Boon," taken from someplace called the "Faraway," to resurrect their younger brother Gilad. Aram believes it is too dangerous, but Ivar insists they owe it to Gilad for the countless times he's saved their city. It is also revealed that Ivar killed the ruler of Ur for trying to stop him from using the Boon. Aram insists Ivar has gone insane with grief, and reminds him they have no idea what will happen when they turn the Boon on. Ivar replies "That's always been your problem, hasn't it? You have no faith." Ivar walks outside the temple to switch the Boon on in front of a giant crowd, announcing that he has discovered eternal life. Aram kills the guards and tries to stop Ivar, but he is too late. The Boon is switched on, and a wave of energy engulfs the entire planet. The scene changes to modern-day Ohio, in a Christian theme park called "Promised Land" run by a Congresswoman Archer and her husband Reverend Archer. In a secluded room, their son Obadiah Archer receives his "final test" in combat against several other youths. Obadiah defeats them all with martial arts, and his parents tell him he is ready for his first mission in the outside world. It is revealed that they belong to an order called "The Dominion" and they are dedicated to destroying a " " they refer to as "He Who is Not to Be Named." Obadiah is given a device called "The Fulcrum" and sent to assassinate this man in New York City. Before leaving Promised Land for the first time, he says goodbye to his large amount of foster siblings. Mary-Maria, the only one who's been outside before, hugs him and gives a tearful goodbye. She quietly tells Obadiah to escape while he has the chance, and not to be weak like her. She also gives him a journal to remember her. Obadiah Archer travels to New York City and takes in the sights while hunting down He Who is Not to Be Named. The artifact glows brighter as he enters the Meatpacking District in Manhattan, and eventually it leads him to a dive bar. The bar is occupied by a rowdy biker gang called the "Sons of Perdition," and Archer assaults their leader when the artifact appears to be pointing to him. This quickly leads to a massive barfight. The immortal Aram Anni-Padda, now going by the name "Armstrong," is the bar's very drunk bouncer. Archer & Armstrong team up to battle and defeat all the bikers. Immediately after the battle, Archer realizes he was mistaken and the Fulcrum was actually pointing to Armstrong. Archer attacks Armstrong, and Armstrong tries to explain the situation while defending himself. They are both interrupted by a grenade that floods the room with knockout gas. Mysterious masked soldiers then enter the bar and abduct them. Archer & Armstrong wake up inside a locked room, which Armstrong believes to be in (where he has previously been imprisoned). Armstrong explains that he is targeted by an ancient organization known as "The Sect," whose membership goes back to and in the Freemasons. Archer insists this is a lie, and he is on a holy mission. Archer threatens to kill Armstrong while he's tied up, and Armstrong replies that the Sect has been failing to kill him for almost 10,000 years. He also explains that Archer's "Fulcrum" is a part of the Boon, the machine that "ended the world that came before this one." The Sect has taken over every secret society trying to find the pieces of the Boon that Armstrong hid across the planet. Archer uses his lockpicking skills to escape the room, promising to "find out what is going on" and then kill Armstrong when he returns. Archer disables several masked soldiers, and finds a large room where members of the Sect are talking. The group that captured them is a cult known as The One Percent, devoted to greed and enacting the will of . Archer is horrified to see the faces of his parents on the screen, revealing they are also members of the Sect. They admit that they intended him as a sacrifice, to "distract or destroy Aram Anni-Padda" so they could assemble the Boon together. The One Percent explain that they are betraying the Dominion, and stealing the Fulcrum means they now have 2 out of the 6 parts of the Boon. Their plan is to stabilize the by blowing up Greece. Archer's parents beg them to return the Fulcrum, saying "You can keep the boy -- he's a failure -- useless to us now." Notes * This issue is reprinted in the collected edition Archer & Armstrong: The Michelangelo Code. It was also reprinted as a "One Dollar Debut" issue in . * This issue includes a "sneak preview" of . * This issue establishes several of Obadiah Archer's skills, including , , , and . His foster brother Jacob also demonstrates . * One of Archer's foster siblings is named Bort. This is a reference to the classic The Simpsons episode "Itchy & Scratchy Land." * The "Nudist Cowboy" seen in New York City is a reference to the real-life street performer . * "Cavewoman Andy" probably is a homage to Andrew "Andy" Claybrook. Quotes Gallery Cover Art File:Archer and Armstrong Vol 2 1.jpg|'Regular Cover' by Mico Suayan Archer and Armstrong Vol 2 1 Henry Variant.jpg|'Pullbox Cover' by Clayton Henry Archer and Armstrong Vol 2 1 Aja Variant.jpg|'1:20 Retailer Incentive Cover' by David Aja Archer and Armstrong Vol 2 1 Adams Variant.jpg|'1:100 Linewide Retailer Incentive Cover' by Neal Adams Archer and Armstrong Vol 2 1 Suayan Gold Variant.jpg|'Gold Edition' Archer and Armstrong Vol 2 1 2nd Printing.jpg|'Second Printing' by Clayton Henry Archer and Armstrong Vol 2 1 3rd Printing.jpg|'Third Printing' One Dollar Debut Archer and Armstrong Vol 1 1.jpg|'One Dollar Debut' Cover Art Textless Archer and Armstrong Vol 2 1 Textless.jpg Archer and Armstrong Vol 2 1 Henry Variant Textless.jpg Archer and Armstrong Vol 2 1 Aja Variant Textless.jpg Archer and Armstrong Vol 2 1 Adams Variant Textless.jpg Archer and Armstrong Vol 2 1 2nd Printing Textless.jpg Panels Archer and Armstrong Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 001.jpg Archer and Armstrong Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 002.jpg Archer Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 001.jpg Archer Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 002.jpg Armstrong Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 001.jpg Boon Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 001.jpg Grece Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 001.jpg Federal Hall Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 001.jpg Flo the Dinosaur Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 001.jpg Founding Fathers and Freemasons Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 001.jpg The Fulcrum Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 001.jpg Mary-Maria Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 001.jpg Nudist Cowboy Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 001.jpg One Percent Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 001.jpg Promised Land Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 001.jpg Reverend Archer Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 001.jpg Sect Soldiers Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 001.jpg Times Square Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 001.jpg Archer's skills Jean-Paul Archer Savate Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 001.jpg|'Savate' Dae and Kim Archer Taekwondo Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 001.jpg|'Taekwondo' Capoeira Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 001.jpg|'Capoeira' Jacob Archer Krav Maga Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 001.jpg|'Krav Maga' Lockpicking Archer-and-Armstrong-v2-1 001.jpg|'Lockpicking' Related References External links